


Twilight: This Time It's Serious

by Integral_of_Awesome



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abusive Relationships, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-09 23:55:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10424673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Integral_of_Awesome/pseuds/Integral_of_Awesome
Summary: Bella Swan and Emily Young discuss their choices over coffee. Well, "discuss" is certainly one word for it.





	

Bella wasn't really sure _why_ she and Emily had continued to see each other once Edward came back. It wasn't as if Bella was hanging out with anyone else in the pack, not even Jacob ( _especially_ not Jacob). If she was being honest, it was because Emily had insisted, and she was a hard woman to deny. The first time she had asked, Bella had opened her mouth to say "No, thank you" but "Yes, of course" had come out instead.

Walking into the coffee shop now (neutral territory had been a must for these meetings to take place), Emily smiled at her warmly, and it took everything in Bella's power not to stare at the scars. She was still getting used to the whole idea, even after having known for so long. Emily got her coffee quickly and sat down across from Bella, and the whole time, Bella very carefully _did not_ look at the scars.

"How did you do it - after?"

Bella felt like someone should slap whoever had asked that insensitive question, except that she and Emily were the only ones there, and _Emily_ sure as hell hadn't said it. Blood rushed to Bella's cheeks, and she immediately opened her mouth to apologize profusely and possibly throw herself at Emily's feet and beg for mercy, but Emily locked eyes with Bella, gaze intent, and all Bella's words dried up on her tongue.

"It wasn't easy." A sad smile played on her lips. "It almost ruined us."

Bella nodded. "But you loved him so much it didn't matter."

Emily laughed at that, harsh though not cruel, and Bella cringed in a cross between mortification, surprise, and confusion. "I'm sorry," Emily said, smiling gently once again. She looked much more natural that way. "No. I mean, yes, I love him very much. Of course I do. It would be a mute point if I didn't, but love is the excuse every woman in an abusive relationship has ever used, and I didn’t want that to be me.”

Bella didn't understand.

It looked like Emily knew that. “Have you and Edward—,” Bella realized suddenly that she and Emily had _never_ discussed her relationship with Edward, “—ever talked about it? _Really_ talked about it. Beyond mortal danger and true love. Have you and Edward ever sat down to have a real, serious, grown-up discussion about your relationship?”

Bella was too insulted by Emily's insinuation to answer, but Emily took that as answer enough.

“Sam and I finally did. It took this—,” she gestured to her face and Bella winced, belatedly realizing that she'd forgotten to keep herself from staring, “—but we did it. We sat down and talked about where our relationship stood. We discussed boundaries, what would be too much.”

“But you love each other,” Bella said, a little guilty at the superiority she felt because _she_ could be confident in her love, “what could be too much for that?”

Emily leveled a grave stare at her. “Accidentally mauling me was pushing it a little close. And killing. Say someone got caught in the crossfire. Is it okay if it's an accident? Is it okay if it's on purpose? What if a vampire came after me to get to him? What if one came after my family? What if one day we had kids, and they got hurt because of all this? You have to talk about these things, Bella. You can't just brush them off.”

Bella really felt like Emily wasn’t seeing the “love” angle in all this. Bella herself knew how powerful true love could be, despite the odds or the obstacles. “I love Edward, and he loves me. Nothing is too much for us.”

Emily shook her head. “And if he leaves you with little to no explanation and certainly no forwarding address? Did you even talk about that?”

“He thought he was doing it for my own good. He was just trying to protect me. Plus, he was miserable without me,” Bella said. She was starting to get angry and unreasonably scared, and that combination of feelings was not common at all for Bella to experience.

Emily leaned forward, sliding a hand toward where Bella’s arm was resting on the table. “Doesn’t it bother you that your boyfriend made that decision without consulting you? Don’t you have any say in what's good for you?”

“It's not like that!” Bella nearly shouted, face burning with a hot flush.

“Then what is it like?”

Their voices had been gradually rising, and Bella was pretty sure the entire coffee shop was watching them now. It wasn't exactly a conversation Bella wanted to be having in front of ignorant witnesses; it wasn't exactly a conversation Bella wanted to be having at all. So, she stood up from the table, coffee gone cold in her hand, and said, “I don’t have to justify myself to you.”

Emily didn't rise, and this felt like the end of their little coffee dates. “No, you don’t, but eventually you’ll have to justify this to yourself.”

Bella walked out of the shop. She walked out of the shop and to her truck, and then she drove home. Once she was home, she did her laundry and specifically did not think about what Emily had said because Emily was _wrong_. She didn't know anything about Bella and Edward's relationship. She couldn't understand.

This was _love_.


End file.
